Suppliers' associations in the Japanese automobile industry: collective action for technololgy diffusion
分析日本汽车产业中供应商协会的结构与功能，指出供应商间的技术协调对产业竞争力至关重要，基于实地调研和问卷调查解释其存在原因及经济影响。
This paper analyses the structure and functions of suppliers' associations {kyoryokukai) in the automobile industry in Japan. The bilateral assembler-supplier relationship has received much attention recently as a source of Japanese industrial competitiveness. However, this paper argues that the hitherto neglected area of intersupplier co-ordination in technology diffusion is at least as important as the bilateral assembler-supplier relationship in accounting for the overall performance of the Japanese automotive industry. On the basis of company visits and a large-scale survey of first-tier suppliers conducted by the author, the paper analyses the reasons why suppliers' associations were established and why they continue to exist today, and their effects on economic performance.